# Pete Townshed CLEARED (sort of...)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [May 8, 2003, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925 "2003-05-08T17:11:14Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@yawndave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yawndave)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2003, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/1 "2003-05-08T17:11:14Z")
Well, Pete has been declared innocent of downloading porn, but received what I would consider to be more than a ‘slap on the wrist’. Here’s what he had to say about it—
[http://www.siouxcitysue.com/TheWhoFanForum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=310](http://www.siouxcitysue.com/TheWhoFanForum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=310)
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2003, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/2 "2003-05-08T17:18:04Z")
I wouldn’t blame him for being annoyed. I wonder if there’s an appeals process or something. But it could have been much worse for him (indeed, it was, given that way more people know he was accused than will know he’s been cleared).
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/3 "2003-05-08T17:35:14Z")
It’s probably not worth his time to appeal. It lookes like the police believed his explanation – that he was just checking out the website. Since they found no files on the computer, it was a sign he was telling the truth.
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### Author:  [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/4 "2003-05-08T18:45:32Z")
From the site **yawndave** lined to:
> [@](#):
>
> I [Pete Townshend] think the decision to caution me was right and just. I admitted an offence without claiming extraordinary mitigation.
I think that puts paid to thoughts of an appeal, and to put it in perspective, the police have been criticised over here by children’s rights organisations for the leniency of the sentence. From [this article](http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/story.jsp?story=404160):
> [@](#):
>
> A spokesman for Phoenix survivors, a group which represents victims of child abuse, said: "We are appalled at the leniency of the punishment Townshend has received.
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> "He gave money to child molesters, which doubtless paid for the next child-rape photo session.
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> “It makes little difference to what happens to us if the sex offender is behind the monitor, the lens or the blanket – our suffering doesn’t change.”
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> The children’s charity, the NSPCC, took a slightly more measured respond, highlighting the consequences of being placed on the Sex Offenders Register.
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> But Jennifer Bernard, from the NSPCC, said that no one should forget the suffering behind the images people pay a few dollars to watch on their computer scenes.
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> “Every child seen on an internet pornography site is a real child who is likely to have been abused time and time again,” she said.
The consequences of his name appearing on the Sex Offenders Register will be far-reaching (he will be effectively prohibited from travelling to the USA for five years for instance).
But the original charges against him made it seem unlikely that he could escape a custodial sentence and my interpretation is that the police have attempted to achieve a workable compromise.
Speaking as someone who never doubted that he acted in good faith, I have to say that he’s been very lucky to stay out of jail, and although I’m sure his reputation will suffer far more than he deserves, he only has himself to blame for that. I hope that in future people researching books (however well intentioned they may be) will take more sensible precautions before they act. IMHO no sensible person should disbelieve Pete Townsend’s version of events, but we should also want to prevent “research” from becoming the excuse of choice for people making criminal use of the internet.
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### Author:  [@MusicJunkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MusicJunkie)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2003, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/5 "2003-05-08T19:26:44Z")
I’m just glad he wasn’t sent to jail. What he did was thoughtless but given his motives I think understandable. He’s being punished enough already.
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### Author:  [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2003, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/6 "2003-05-08T21:08:09Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by MusicJunkie \*
> \*\*I’m just glad he wasn’t sent to jail. What he did was thoughtless but given his motives I think understandable. He’s being punished enough already. \*\*
I disagree. Would it be understandable for him to buy drugs if he were writing a song about drug use? I don’t believe that the excuse of “research” give an artist the right to commit a crime. And this comes from a long-time Who fan.
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### Author:  [@yawndave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yawndave)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2003, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/7 "2003-05-08T22:50:11Z")
Wow, the comment from the Phoenix group is surprising. I think most people don’t have the faintest idea of Pete’s history of good works for numerous good causes…he’s just a ‘rock star’ to them, not really anyone worthy of admiration. I’m also a ‘long-time’ Who fan – I’ve followed Townshend’s career for more than 30 years. Those who think of him as a guy who smashes guitars for a living don’t begin to understand the depth of the man.
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### Author:  [@MusicJunkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MusicJunkie)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2003, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/8 "2003-05-08T23:52:45Z")
> [@](#):
>
> I disagree. Would it be understandable for him to buy drugs if he were writing a song about drug use? I don’t believe that the excuse of “research” give an artist the right to commit a crime. And this comes from a long-time Who fan.
I think the research was for a book and I agree it’s no excuse for crime commiting but I think it’s clear that wasn’t the intention. Pete didn’t realize how wrong what he was doing was. I wouldn’t say it was wrong to send him to jail if that had been the decision. I’m just glad that didn’t happen.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [May 9, 2003, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/9 "2003-05-09T01:10:37Z")
He’s said he thinks he was abused as a child, and was doing research for a book (autbiography, I think). Since he was telling the truth about the rest of it, I see no reason to disbelieve this.
It’s unfortunate, but there’s not really another way to investigate this as far as I know… when the police or journalists want to do this, they have to pay money too. It’s regrettable, but an unavoidable part of the attempt to do something good.
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### Author:  [@doctordoowop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doctordoowop)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2003, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/10 "2003-05-12T06:09:41Z")
If anybody believes he did it because he was molested as a child & needed to reseach it , I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale. Would a woman who was raped need to do research about it before writing about it? Come on. Just a case of “Can’t Explain.”
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### Author:  [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2003, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/11 "2003-05-12T08:24:32Z")
…And thus **doctordoowop** displays the level of prejudice and ignorance that is prevalent in today’s witchhunt-happy society. :rolleyes:
I believe Townshend is indeed innocent of the charges, though obviously very _stupid_, for what he did to get accused in the first place. He’ll never live down the stigma of being a suspected pedophile, just like Woody Allen.
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### Author:  [@moi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moi)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2003, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/12 "2003-05-12T10:00:30Z")
> [@](#):
>
> If anybody believes he did it because he was molested as a child & needed to reseach it , I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale. Would a woman who was raped need to do research about it before writing about it? Come on.
If she wanted to cite general statistics relating to rape, yes. If she wanted to contextualize her experiences based on common rape experiences, yes. If she wanted to learn about the perspective of the rapist, yes. If she wanted to discuss help available for victims of rape, yes. If she wanted to cite an authority about the post-traumatic effects of rape, yes.
Jesus, use your imagination a wee bit before making such sweeping statements.
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### Author:  [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2003, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/13 "2003-05-12T19:39:10Z")
The Dr. may be out of line, but there is a real possibility Pete is lying (I hope he isn’t.)
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### Author:  [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/14 "2003-05-12T19:47:35Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by neuroman \*
> \*\*The Dr. may be out of line, but there is a real possibility Pete is lying (I hope he isn’t.) \*\*
Only, I think, in the sense that there’s always a real possibility that _anyone_ could be lying at any time. Pete’s story checked out, and despite being very open about his drug/sex/psychological problems in the past I don’t think he’s ever said or done anything in the past to suggest that he has a thing for kiddie porn.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/15 "2003-05-12T21:06:50Z")
I don’t buy the bullshit story. I suppose a person would say whatever it took to stay out of the “stripy hole”, and you would believe it _if you really wanted to_. But you didn’t really expect him to go to jail, did you? Don’t you know that rock stars, movie stars and sports heros can do whatever they want and get off scott-free?
“I was doing _research!_” …I’m writing that down. I could use that…
* * *
Never kiss an animal that can lick its own butt.
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### Author:  [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2003, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/16 "2003-05-12T21:52:59Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by gatopescado \*
> \*\*But you didn’t really expect him to go to jail, did you? Don’t you know that rock stars, movie stars and sports heros can do whatever they want and get off scott-free?
> \*\*
They sent Gary Glitter to jail for possession of child pornography.
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### Author:  [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/17 "2003-05-12T21:59:36Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by doctordoowop \*
> \*\*If anybody believes he did it because he was molested as a child & needed to reseach it , I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale. Would a woman who was raped need to do research about it before writing about it? Come on. Just a case of “Can’t Explain.” \*\*
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by neuroman \*
> \*\*The Dr. may be out of line, but there is a real possibility Pete is lying (I hope he isn’t.) \*\*
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by gatopescado \*
> \*\*I don’t buy the bullshit story. I suppose a person would say whatever it took to stay out of the “stripy hole”, and you would believe it _if you really wanted to_. But you didn’t really expect him to go to jail, did you? Don’t you know that rock stars, movie stars and sports heros can do whatever they want and get off scott-free?
>
> “I was doing _research!_” …I’m writing that down. I could use that…\*\*
So a four-month police invesitgation isn’t good enough for you? He must’ve been lying because that’s what you would prefer to believe?
I neither know nor care how much “justice” is for sale to rock stars in your country, but plenty of people with no lesser public profile that Pete Townshend have certainly served time over here. This kind of garbage is why the Straight Dope has been fighting ignorance since 1973 and yet it still seems like it’s barely scratched the surface.
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### Author:  [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/18 "2003-05-13T01:17:17Z")
**Everton** , please chill out. What I meant is that when it comes to sexual matters, people frequently lie. Pete _did_ use his credit card to pay for access to a site purveying child porn, did he not? The Who fan in me believes Pete’s stated motivation (research.) The skeptic in me says “well, there _is_ a chance he’s lying.” I tend to agree with **Lamia** , it’s probably the same chance as “the possibility that _anyone_ could be lying at any time about anything,” as long as I can qualify that as “anything sensitive or illegal.” (No one but a pathological liar is going to lie about how many sugars they put in their tea, for example.)
Also, maybe you should re-read my original post. I said “I hope he isn’t lying”, which you apparantly construed as “neuroman would prefer to believe Pete is lying.” Anyway, I do wish Pete all the best, and I hope that this incident fades away soon and doesn’t overshadow his tremendous musical career. And if it effectively keeps him out of the U.S. for the next five years, that is most unfortunate.
Cheers.
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### Author:  [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2003, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/19 "2003-05-13T12:46:16Z")
I did think twice before including your post with those other two, **neuroman** , and yes I did notice the comment you added in parentheses. In the end I included it because suggesting that there’s still room for doubt about Townshend’s veracity just fuels the wild imaginations of people who would prefer to spread malicious gossip than accept a less juicy story as the truth.
If anybody does have evidence that contradicts the conclusion drawn by the [Metropolitan Police](http://www.met.police.uk/) I’m sure they’d be pleased to hear it. But the SDMB is subject to the same libel laws as any other publication, and people here should be careful not to get the Chicago Reader into unnecessary legal difficulties.
There was a sticky a little while back warning people against libelling celebrities, but in the absence of that it might be worth having another look at this: [SDMB registration agreement as of 12/6/2002](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=148527)
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### Author:  [@doctordoowop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doctordoowop)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2003, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pete-townshed-cleared-sort-of/173925/20 "2003-05-15T05:21:38Z")
What I was not buying was his reason. It could have been just(morbid) curiosity. I am also a WHO fan & was lucky enough to see Moon & Entwhistle w/ the group too. I never said he was a pedophile, just that his excuse was rather lame. Hey, people slow down to see accidents on the highway- just curiosity. I will add, however, & that creates problems, is that substance abusers & sex offenders are notorious for having credibility problems.(denial of responsibility etc.)
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